Liquified inert gases are employed in many industrial processes. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,407,340 to the inventors of the present invention describes a system for injecting liquified inert gases into containers to pressurize these containers.
Liquified gases are supplied to industrial processes from either large pressurized storage tanks or portable pressurized tanks. In either event, transport of the liquified gas results in gaseous losses due to the inability to insulate transport pipes sufficiently to maintain the extremely cold temperatures at which these liquified gases remain in liquified form. Thus, a liquified gas stream as presented to an industrial process from its storage facility is in the form of a mixture of gas and liquid.
Since the amount of vaporization cannot be adequately controlled by insulation, the percent liquid, as well as the pressure of the liquified gas stream to the industrial process, varies considerably.
There is a need in many industrial processes to provide a gaseous free liquified gas stream to the process at a constant, known pressure.